tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287675141745937676.post551055082120739149..comments2020-05-27T11:50:05.806+01:00Comments on Caroline's Miscellany: Servants' bellsCarolineLDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197813252586559665noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287675141745937676.post-11555837236958183412013-10-16T12:07:03.545+01:002013-10-16T12:07:03.545+01:00Hi Caroline,
I really like your picture of servan...Hi Caroline,<br /><br />I really like your picture of servants&#39; bells, and I was wondering if it would be possible to use the picture on my website? I am creating a site for my mother-in-law who is opening up her house for weddings. I thought the image would be fun to have in the &quot;contact us&quot; section. Her home used to have servants bells - there are still one or 2 dotted about, but there is no longer a board full of them, like in your picture.<br /><br />I would love to use the image on our site (which is not yet up otherwise I&#39;d give you the url!), but I understand if you would rather not. My email is info@purtonhouseweddings.co.uk. <br /><br />I really hope to hear from you.<br /><br />Kind regards, Catherine BarkerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287675141745937676.post-89504427792734914422013-01-12T10:55:57.747+00:002013-01-12T10:55:57.747+00:00Thank you - and what great detective work! It&#39;...Thank you - and what great detective work! It&#39;s a lovely topic for a thesis. CarolineLDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00197813252586559665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287675141745937676.post-51816135915206625312013-01-11T21:41:56.517+00:002013-01-11T21:41:56.517+00:00Great post...
I&#39;m writing a thesis about mecha...Great post...<br />I&#39;m writing a thesis about mechanical house bell systems and I&#39;ve had a bit of trouble nailing down the date of their invention as well.<br /> <br />However, I found an earlier reference to house bells in Tessa Murdoch&#39;s Noble Households: Eighteenth-Century Inventories of Great English Houses. She found spring-mounted house bell equipment in the 1727 probate inventory at Kiveton House in Yorkshire. <br /><br />Since bell systems rely on springs for their operation, my best guess dates their invention to the late 1600&#39;s, after physicists discovered the mechanical principle behind the spring and began using springs in clocks. The clock balance spring looks quite similar to a house bell spring. Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08795630209270449821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287675141745937676.post-57220770085090709862011-11-11T15:32:36.349+00:002011-11-11T15:32:36.349+00:00Interesting post, especially the bit about the bel...Interesting post, especially the bit about the bells&#39; introduction in 1744. They seem to have caught on quickly, judging by Horace Walpole&#39;s description of the London earthquake of 1750:<br /><br />&quot;I felt my bolster lift up my head; I thought somebody was getting from under my bed, but soon found it was a strong earthquake, that lasted near half a minute, with a violent vibration and great roaring. I rang my bell; my servant came in, frightened out of his senses: in an instant we heard all the windows in the neighbourhood flung up. I got up and found people running into the streets, but saw no mischief done: there had been some; two old houses flung down, several chimneys, and much chinaware. The bells rung in several houses.&quot;<br /><br />IanLondon Sound Surveyhttp://www.soundsurvey.org.uknoreply@blogger.com